Bright Lights and Tokyo Nights
by depression76
Summary: They're just two people, from different worlds, trying to find a middle ground to develop something that both yearns more than anything.
1. Chapter 1

Just something I wrote many moons ago.

Lemme know what you think.

**Disclaimer: **MGLN doesn't belong to me.

* * *

**Bright Lights and Tokyo Nights**

_-Chapter One-_

* * *

It wasn't everyday that I found myself walking down unfamiliar roads during a Friday night. Usually at this time I would be at home, curled up with a nice cup of coffee as I try to rush through grading the papers so that I would have more time to spare for personal needs during the weekends. This kind of rare irregularity feels strange yet refreshing at the same time and I found myself slowing down my pace in order to absorb everything around me. The colorful lights that light up the warm Okinawan night earned most of my attention however. They have similar flashy kind of lights back in Tokyo, but the atmosphere surrounding them were different, as strange as that sounds.

People rushed around me, lightly shoving as they headed probably towards a festival that was held somewhere around here, judging from the faint cracklings of fireworks. If I didn't already have a plan, I'd love to join them and indulge myself in heaps and heaps of festival foods that smelled like heavens and tasted like home. And besides, Okinawan crowds look far more welcoming than the folks back in Tokyo, I might have to drop by to a festival before this short holiday of mine ended.

As though wanting to stop my endless thoughts, my pale ivory coach purse vibrates in a familiar rhythm that was set especially for personal contacts. I didn't have to know who it was before flipping my phone and pressed it against my ear.

"Hello?" I said while stepping aside on the pathway to avoid being run into as I talk.

"_Nanoha-chan!" _I find myself wincing as the shrill greeting reach my eardrum "_Nanoha-chan! Nanoha-chan! Nanoha-chan! " _

"…I can hear you fine the first time, Hayate-chan."

"_Ufufufu, I was just checking, you know— in case you're inebriated, half-naked and incapable of remembering your own name unless someone shouts it at you."_

"That was ONE time!" and she's _still _holding that against me! God!

"_Hahaha! One memorable time, Nanoha-chan. Can't repeat the past from happening eh? Anyway, are you there yet?"_

Now that she's finally on topic, I resume my pace towards my destination, walking slower than before to concentrate on the phone "No, not yet, I'm on my way."

"_Well, hurry up then, chop chop! It's not good to be late on a date!"_

"A _blind _date…to which I have no idea how I agreed to this in the first place." My memories regarding the circumstances of when she asked this of me were rather blurry. It must be that sneaky tanuki's fault.

So when said tanuki gave a smug _tsk-tsk_ noise on the phone, I instantly knew I was right.

"_You owed me one, remember?" _No, I do not remember, "_'Sides, with this date you get to go to Okinawa for a week of splendid holiday with _all _expense paid by yours truly! How much more awesome can I get?"_

Well that's true…but with Hayate-chan paying for everything in the first place was also suspicious on itself. Not to mention I feel rather bad about spending her money…

"…You're right," I sigh as I wait for the crossing light to turn green "But you'll have to let me pay all this off somehow," of course; it all depends on how this…blind date will turn out. If she sets me up with a troll, I'll chase her off to the ends of the earth.

"_Maa, maa, that's for later. You just enjoy tonight, okay Nanoha-chan? Don't forget to hit me up after the date ends, ne? First dibs on all the juicy info!"_

I roll my eyes good-naturedly at my best friend's words "Yes, yes, I'll call you later. Or tomorrow, I dunno. Later Hayate-chan,"

And after she hangs up with a cheeky goodbye, I flip my phone close and cross the street towards the blinking green light at the other side of the road.

* * *

The place we're supposed to meet at was actually a western style vegan diner. I had to double check the address Hayate-chan gave me because, really? A vegan diner? Hasn't she known me for at least 15 years to know that I'm not that fond of rabbit food? The place was rather nice at least, so that's minus one reason to get me running away to my hotel room and order a room service instead.

Sighing, I relent and stepped inside the diner, alerting the whole place thanks to the bell on the door. The maître d immediately led me towards the rows of tables placed by the windows after I told him that I have a reservation under the 'Yagami' name. The place was dimly lit thanks to the softly glowing orange lamps placed on the walls, and it adds so much to the ambience. Seems like this place was nice both on the outside _and _on theinside. More and more I look around, the more I want to stay here, regardless of the food choice. The change of heart makes me think that maybe Hayate-chan knows me a bit _too _well…

"Your table, miss." At the voice, I snapped my focus back to the kind maitre d before a flash of yellow caught my eyes. Sitting across what's designated to be my seat was a (_beautiful_) long haired blonde dressed in a loose black tank top with a silver necklace hanging around her neck, deeply engrossed in the menu she was reading. Trying very hard not to stare at how the necklace plunge low into the chest area, I open my mouth to speak—

Only to let out a small croak because my brain went entirely blank at that moment. No witty greeting appeared other than '_waddap_' in my mind.

It was mortifying.

The maître d left around that moment with his shoulders shaking a bit. I knew he's laughing at me, _I knew it!_

It was during this time did I feel the phone I've been clutching desperately in my hand vibrates faintly, signaling a new text message. I flipped it open and glanced at the screen.

'_I forgot to tell you, she's a pretty blonde by the way. Have fun! Xoxo Hayate'_

…Yes, I've seen. Hayate-chan should have given me an early warning. The breathtaking view almost gave me a small heart attack.

"Oh, hello there."

_Oh no._

"Hi," I met the blonde's eyes (_oh wow, red?)_ with a nervous smile and finally sat down across from her "sorry I'm late. Did you wait long?"

Blondie shook her head with a smile that I swore light up the place a bit "No, don't worry, I just got here myself." She placed the menu book back on the table with a small shrug "This place was rather hard to find,"

"Tell me about it, a vegan place located in the middle of nowhere."

"I didn't even know they had vegan diners in Okinawa." Blondie rolled her eyes good naturedly and I feel the corners of my lips lift up at the sight "Trust Hayate to choose weird places to meet up."

This made me blink "Huh? So you didn't choose the place?"

"Me? No," the red eyes blinked back at me in confusion "If it was me, I wouldn't have chosen a place like this, honestly. Rabbit food." She added in a low voice.

"Oh."

My answer must have shown her how dumbfounded I was at her words because she asked back "Why did you think I choose this place?"

_Maybe because you look like the typical model that eats nothing but celery sticks and would faint at the sight of a cheesy greasy pizza?_

I don't know how to make that sound less insulting so I opted for the safer one.

"…because you look like the type who likes nibbling on a carrot stick."

And Blondie burst out laughing to my surprise. And it's a pretty laugh too; nothing like the _snort-giggle-fart _people usually lets out, but the elegant upper-lady-like _ufufufu _kind of laugh. I wonder if she practices laughing perfectly like that.

"Oh wow, no, goodness no. I don't really like vegetables. They're pretty bland."

"Me too. I mean, I don't like vegetables that much too."

She smiled at this "I kind of figured." And to that kind of smile, it's hard not to smile back. So I did, immediately forgetting about my horrible brain fart moments earlier.

"But that means we're going to have a hard time," Blondie said again, nudging the menu across the table towards me "everything here contains veggies."

"But it says here they have cheeseburgers."

"With fat-free cheese and patties made from lettuces no doubt."

"Ugh."

"And potatoes, tomatoes and probably bell peppers."

"_Ugh."_

"Eh? What?"

"_Peppers." _ I hissed through clenched teeth while flipping through the menu. Reading through the lists of food on the menu works only on getting rid of my appetite "There're lots and lots of them."

"Don't like that too?"

_Too. _I found myself grinning at this point "Hate it actually."

"And I _despise _tomatoes. Let's just get dessert and eat properly somewhere else."

"Sounds like a plan."

Looks like this date won't be so bad after all.

* * *

We ended up eating a bowl of ice cream each (_strawberry for me and mint for her_) and shared a plate of a very gooey chocolate fudge cake. It was no wonder that I feel my body temperature drop uncomfortably when we step back to the warm Okinawan air. Other than that, I noticed that Blondie's almost a full foot taller than me as we stand side by side. And, she's wearing flats while I'm wearing two inches heeled footwear.

How irritating.

"Ready for real food?" Blondie asked as she typed something on her glossy black phone, fingers dancing on the keypad like one of those high school girls these days "I saw a good sushi place somewhere around here."

A thoughtful hum as I looked around.

Sushi was good, but that's the typical food you can get anywhere. It's a waste if we don't try out the local cuisine in my opinion. My eyes landed on the stream of people walking towards the riverside and an idea popped up.

"How about we go eat at the festival?"

"Festival?" red eyes looked up from her phone and blinked at me.

"Yeah, they have street vendors there right? They'll have foods too; we might as well try out the local cuisine while we're here."

"Local cuisine…wow, that's a great idea."

"Right? Now let's go, good foods actually sells out early." And without anymore thoughts I grabbed Blondie's wrist and tugged her to a brisk walk. If I had looked behind me at that moment, I would have seen a dash of redness spreading across Blondie's cheeks.

And that would've been a sight to see.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **Not mine, obviously. Just fanwork, for the sake of amusement.

**A/N:** Huh, you guys like it after all. Since you guys were so kind with your reviews, here's one more chapter. Lemme know what you think as usual.

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**Bright Lights and Tokyo Nights**

_-Chapter Two-_

* * *

It wasn't very hard to look for the festival's location, all we had to do was follow the crowd and not even five minutes later we were by the river side, staring in wonder at the parade of lights.

"Summer festival?" Blondie asked, very much in awe of the sight. I shared her reaction, but I tried so hard to appear nonchalant in front of this blonde…well, as close to nonchalant as possible.

"I…think? I can't think of any festival aside from that." And besides, it's in the middle of July right now. What else?

The two of us walked down the steps to look around at the stalls with the flashy banners and bright paper lanterns. Most of the stalls sell food and automatically, my stomach reacted to it.

In horror I immediately looked at my companion, you know in case she heard it, and was surprised when I saw her look back at me with an equally embarrassed look on her face. As if answering my silent question, another, slightly louder, rumbling filled the air.

Blondie stiffened as the rumbling went on for a bit, before looking at me with mortified eyes once the sound dies down.

"I…I think it's dinner time."

Her unblemished cheeks were as red as they can be, and I was finding it very hard to stop myself from squealing.

"Mhm." Thank goodness I wasn't the only hungry one! "Want to try every cuisine they have?"

"You read my mind." Blondie smiled and tugged on my hand as she leads the way. And before long the two of us were consuming local cuisine like there's no tomorrow.

We tried Goya Chanpuru, that looks good and tastes even better, and Okinawan Soba that actually tastes better than what we expected. Blondie had me trying Taco Rice, a dish that's a mixture of Mexican and Japanese cuisine, and in return I had her try Sata Andagi —an Okinawan desert that's something like fried donuts.

"Mmmmm!" a squeal was let out against my better judgment, earning me an amused look from my companion "heheh, I'm sorry. It's just—this is so good!" I plopped another fried donuts inside my mouth and sighed out as the sweetness attacked my taste buds.

Thanks to growing up in a household that bake sweets for a living, I have an insatiable sweet tooth. Hence the squeal, I suppose…

"What?"

Blondie chuckled at the pout I shot her.

"Nothing." She said with a smile "I just…I didn't know you like sweets so much." She took a small bite of the donut I shared with her earlier (we bought like 6 and I gave her 2 of them, and she's working on her last one) and chewed slowly.

"Ah…" snapping my eyes away from the distracting luscious pink lips, I scrambled for a reply "Well, my family runs a bakery…so this sweet tooth of mine is something I prided in." I am the professional cake taste-tester in the family. And for this reason, I thank the heavens everyday for my father's good genes that prevented me from drastic weight gain every time I eat sweets.

"A bakery?" something like childish-awe appears on Blondie's face and I had to blink twice to make sure that it wasn't my imagination "so you guys make cakes? Your parents are pâtissier?"

A rather stunned nod and I tilt my head with a smile "why?" I find the childish look on Blondie's face adorable, even though it looks out of place on her adult-like persona. I mean, we're adults…or at least, I hoped she's one…legal, of age. I mean, I'm not a cradle-snatcher, no matter how grownup that young person looks.

My inner thought ramblings almost made me missed my companion's reply, but thankfully my ears caught the words before any damage is done.

"Well…I used to have this…childhood dream of being a pastry chef, see?" a finger went up to scratch her nose lightly in embarrassment "I think it's awesome of them to be able to work with something as good as cakes everyday and get paid for it. I like sweets too, that's why being a patissier was my dream job."

_Was._

Why the past tense?

"Not anymore?"

Something akin of a bitter smile replaced the fond look on her face, and I almost feel bad for asking that out loud.

"No." Blonde hair moved as she shook her head "well you know, people grow up…dreams and aspirations change…" she ran a hand through her hair in slight distress

I just can't keep my eyes off her blonde hair, can I?

_You're so hopeless._

"…it ended up being _just_ a dream in the end." She gave a tight smile, signaling the end of this conversation. Note for future conversation with her, cakes are serious business.

"Mhm." I hummed, chewing thoughtfully on my half-eaten fried donut. Only one left, and usually I savor the last one and eat it slowly. But the better part of me wanted to make this blonde smile and forget about her cake-related woes and next I knew I found myself offering the last piece of my Sata Andagi.

"Want?" the cheap paper plate holding the last ball of goodness was raised up as offering as I continue chewing on the half-eaten one that I held with my left hand.

It seems like that was the right move, since she smiled at the gesture.

"I don't need all of it."

"Wha—?"

Blondie reached forward for my half-eaten donut and bend down slightly as maneuvered my left hand to guide the leftover towards her open mouth. All I could see as I stand there in shock was the sight of my snack disappearing between the luscious glossy pair of lips, eyebrows in danger of disappearing into my hairline when she licked my sugar-coated fingers.

The shameless woman straightened up as though nothing had happened and smiled innocently "thank you for the treat." I can never understand how someone can steal a snack while looking so glorious as though she was in a commercial like that.

One blink, two blinks and three seconds later my thoughts were back on track.

I narrow my eyes in mock anger at her and huffed "You think you're so smooth, don't you?"

A laugh and I was pleasantly surprised to see her sticking out the tip of her tongue at me in reply.

"The smoothest in the world~"

My mock-anger façade broke in the matter of seconds and I found myself laughing out at her antic like we're a couple of old friends.

* * *

In every girl's perfect-dream-date list, spending time with your beloved one while walking hand-in-hand in a romantic setting would be either number ten, or eight, or even five in the endless list. Make that romantic setting an exquisite place like Okinawa, and the number will go up one level. Add a gorgeous leggy blonde to it, and I'm sure it'll shoot up into number three and by that point that girl would readily elope with said guy (or girl, whatever rocks your socks) and have his (her?) babies.

Perhaps I would be like that too, if this blind date had turned out like that.

Not that I'm saying this is a horrendous date. I mean, it's been going pretty well, much _much _better than what I had expected.

My date isn't a troll, and she's not some sort of criminal looking to swindle my entire life-savings to enable her escape to another country.

It could've gone much worse, right? That's why I'm not really complaining. I didn't complain when Blondie tripped when eating okonomiyaki and smeared delicious-smelling sauce onto my white dress and Blondie herself didn't complain when I smeared the same delicious-smelling sauce on her nose in the all-friendly retaliation. Accidentally of course, I'm not very vengeful.

Our food binge ends on a positive note, and now, almost 3 hours after we started our 'dinner', the two of us are seated on the stone steps, each nursing a cold can of the local Orion Beer, and watching the still on-going-festival.

It seems like a perfect ending to a perfect evening, but a side of me was hoping that it won't end here. Not now.

Not today.

"This is nice," Blondie let out a satisfied sigh and lean back. From my position, sitting two steps above her, I can see the skin on her neck and not that I'm being creepy or anything, but I think it's paler than the skin on the rest of her body "a very nice night."

"It is." I gave a nod and sipped my drink noisily "Good food."

Blondie's red eyes met mine and she gave a small grin "and good company." Maybe I'm just imagining it, but she looks slightly unsure of herself. As if she's waiting for me to disagree with her and tell her bluntly that today was the worst date I've ever had in my life. It's slightly odd to think that this woman, who was oozing with confidence in every step she took and who usually would be the one people feel insecure about when they hang out with her, would be uncertain with my thought about her companionship.

But I know very well how insecurity can suck and that's why I let myself smile at her (not that hard with how the night had turned out) and nodded in reply.

"Good food _and_ good company."

The fog in her red eyes disappears, and the hesitant small grin stretched wider.

She looks better that way, she should smile more.

"Hayate is going to have a field day when she heard about this." My companion broke the brief silence with a short laugh and that statement while shaking her head "She's been going on about how she's the best matchmaker in the whole _"universe" _when she set me up for this_,_" the blonde gave the air quotes with her fingers, reminding me slightly of my students that like to do the same thing when they converse "and when she heard about how this date turns out, she won't ever let us forget about it and would probably match-make the hell out of everyone single in her vicinity."

I grinned widely because I wholeheartedly agree with her. Hayate-chan is definitely _that _kind of person, and for all her lovable traits, I definitely fear for all the single ladies she would set her match-making eyes on.

"Are you gonna tell her?" at the confused red eyes, I reiterated "about this date, I mean."

"Are _you_?"

I roll my eyes at that "If I have a choice, I won't, but with how she has a blackmail material in her hands I can't exactly say no to whatever she says." And I also have a feeling that that was how I ended up in this blind date in the first place.

My innocent beer received a death glare from me but was spared from combusting into flame by my companion's words.

"Blackmail?"

_Why's she looking so interested about this?_

My brows rose up in amusement.

"No."

"What did you _do_?" a fake gasp as she tried to make it sound scandalous.

_Does this girl work with the gossip magazine or something?_

"Nope" I huffed playfully and looked away "Not telling, no."

A chuckle and a fist came close to my face. Blondie pretended that she was holding a microphone in her hand.

"Whatever happened, miss? Whatever does the great Yagami Hayate-sama has to use as blackmail against you?"

The fake high-pitched voice she uses was ridiculous and the same with that anticipating look on her face. It reminds me so much of the look on those nosy journalists' face as they hang to every word of whichever actress they've managed to corner in the red-light district for scoop shown next day on TV. This combination proved to be too lethal, and the straight face I've been trying to hold up for the last couple of seconds just crumbled down without a fight. I burst out laughing and a beat of a second later Blondie joined me, her laughter ringing out like a wind chime.

"Oh god, this is ridiculous."

A proud grin "We have a ridiculous friend after all."

"Indeed we have." I agree with a solemn nod.

"I still don't know what she's blackmailing you with, you know."

"That, my friend," I winked at the blonde playfully while giving her shoulder a friendly shove "is a story for another time."


End file.
